The historical narrative in this book focuses mostly on military events, but there is some political history as well, for those don't who don't care so much about the range of Spanish harquebuses. The point which interested me most was how divided the natives were, not only city against city but also between elite factions in each city. The author succeeds quite well in describing how Cortes lucky game of native alliances worked in his favor.

However, a little more detail would have been needed in some places. For instance, how was it possible for Cortes to take king Moteuczoma hostage right in the heart of his city? The author says merely that Cortes "went before Moteuczoma and seized him" (p 87), which raises more questions that it answers. He does discuss many reasons for the Aztecs' initial passivity, but a pivotal event like this would perhaps have deserved more attention. But in general this is a very informative book, especially with regard to Indian motives. The two final chapters nicely show how this conquest, which started more like a coup, ended up being one of the big watersheds in history.